Monday, June 09, 2008

Sheikh Ahmad al-Rishawi: Acting On Late Brother's Pledge   [Steve Schippert]

For added context to Eli Lake's report on Skeikh Ahmad al-Rishawi's offer to assist against al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, it may serve to look back at Sheikh Abdul Sattar al-Rishawi's own words as he sought — and finally received once General Petraeus arrived — U.S. assistance against al-Qaeda in Iraq. As an update to this morning's original post on Ahmad al-Rishawi's offer, listen again to Sheikh Abdul Sattar from 2006.

It is a mission in which he needs little guidance from sitting U.S. senators and traveling members of Congress. What he needs are resources. “I swear to God, if we have good weapons, if we have good vehicles, if we have good support, I can fight al Qaeda all the way to Afghanistan,” Sattar said. Naturally, there is bravado in his words. But let it be known that what he possesses is a determination equal to or greater than that of al Qaeda in Iraq.

Today, thrust at the helm of the Iraq Awakening by an al-Qaeda in Iraq suicide bomber who finally caught up to his brother Abdul Sattar, Ahmad al-Rishawi is offering to lend cultural and organization-building expertise in order to set in motion a grassroots anti-al-Qaeda movement in Afghanistan.

The U.S. is wise to have listened to his input and would also be wise to consider moving forward. There may be significant cultural differences between Iraqi Sunnis and the Sunnis of Afghanistan and bordering Pakistan, but there is much to be said about the credibility of fellow Muslim victims of brutal al-Qaeda dominance.

We have tried far less intelligent approaches, to be sure.

06/09 02:01 PMShare